1996-2009 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon vertical tasting

One of my best friends and his wife visited Monterrey to spend a few days with my wife and I after their 2 years assignment in Singapur, so I organized several events to honor them. My friend and I have shared a love for Pride wines since the mid 1990s, so it seemed logical to organize a Pride-related event.

I gathered a line up of Pride Cabs that I had bought on release throughout the years. Missing form the vertical were the only two "weak" years of 1998 & 2000 because I drank those vintages earlier in their life. Involuntarily missing was the 2007 vintage that I somehow forgot to bring from my offsite storage.

I arranged the wines in 3 flights in straight chronological order (oldest to youngest). Most of us had all 11 glasses in front of them to keep comparing them throughout the night.

To go with our wines I cooked one and a half inch thick USDA Prime ribeyes with grilled vegetables. The steaks were so marbled that I struggled with flare ups most of the cooking time.

• 1996 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  The nose is a bit weird to start with (a bit of VA?). In palate, it is medium bodied, fruity and with the tannins completely resolved. This wine is much better in the palate than in the nose. As the night progresses, the nose gets more off putting. Borderline flawed, but not enough to throw it down the drain. Surprisingly, one of my guests voted it his favorite of the flight.

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• 1997 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Riper, lactic nose that is flamboyant and chocolatey. In the mouth, it is hedonistic, opulent, with caramel notes and very long. This may be the prototypical Bob Foley wine from the mid 1990s. This is the wine that made me fall in love with Pride. After so many years of drinking wine, I realize that I enjoy this bombastic style more in its exhuberant youth than with age. Unexpectadly (to me), it received no votes fro Wine of the Flight.

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• 1999 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  The nose on this wine is very interesting. Redolent of freshly ground roasted coffee, black fruits (black currant?) and a spicy note of cinammon.Somewhat elegant and more restrained than the 1997. This was a pleasant surprise as for some reason I wasn't expecting this wine to show as well as it did. It won the Wine of the Flight sweepstakes with 5 votes (although not mine).

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• 2001 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  In the nose it has a deep core of very pure black fruits and a touch of cedar. This was the most concentrated wine in the flight. Still tannic, but the tannins are very ripe so as to not impart an overy drying sensation. This is an excellent wine that is not as flamboyant and hedonistic as the 1997. Best midpalatae and finish in the flight and a serious contender for WOTN.

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• 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This is a riper, softer, less tannic wine than the 2001, but nevertheless attractive. It is in a hedonositic, pleasureable chocolatey,lactic wine. The ripeness here does not run as wildly and un-controlled as with the 1997. It received 1 vote for wine of the flight.

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• 2003 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  Ripeness here is more restrained than with the 2002 (and obviously the 1997).Although there are milky, caramel notes, they are well complemented by fruit aromas and flavors. It shows better balance than most wines, which garners it 4 votes for wine of the flight.

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• 2004 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 87 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  This wine had a muted nose with an un-characteristic aroma profile (bacon fat, sausage). A bit flabby and lacking a bit of acidity, it rounded off its nose with a cold steel note. This was the weakest wine in the flight and received no voted for wine of the flight.

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• 2005 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  Very complete wine. Again, more restraint shows through. Nose is beautiful with very pure dark fruits and a touch of soy sauce. Complete, deep and long, it has very attractive acidity and firm tannins. Excellent wine. It received 4 votes as wine of the flight (including mine).

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• 2006 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  From the moment I un-corked this bottle it showed a very intense and attractive nose that filled the room. Dark fruits, animal fat and spice open up the way for a deep, concentrated wine that has a lot of ripeness, but is well balanced with very nice juicy acidity. Excellent wine. Everithing one can expect in a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. It received 8 votes for wine of the flight (including mine) and was the majority pick for Wine of the Night.

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• 2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  This Cab is in a weird stage. A bit disjointed, it is affected by an off putting (although subtle) note of burnt rubber. The weight is medium bodied, adequately concentrated and with good fruit, but for some reason, it doesn't cross the outstanding treshold. maybe it needs time. It did not receive any votes for Wine of the Flight.

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• 2009 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  The ultimate prototypical mountain cabernet. Very distinctive nose that nearly overwhems you with the purest montain berry fruit and a hint of green bell pepper that does not cross the treshold into the nasty herbaceous spectrum. It reminds me of a lot of Maipo Valley Cabernets. Very elegant, with excellent acidity and very terse tannins. I ignore whteher this newfound elegance is the product of a cooler vintage of a new wine making direction. I was very tempted to vote this wine as my favorite of the flight, but the 2006 contined to flesh out and improve all night long. It received one vote for wine of the flight.

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This was a great tasting dinner. We laughed so loudly and often that everyone went home happier than they came in the door. This is one of the misteries of wine that most fascinates me.